Portable rewinder for paper tape from business machines



p 1, 1953 J. ROCHE 2,650;775

PORTABLE REWINDER FOR PAPER TAPE FROM BUSINESS MACHINES Filed April 22,1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lllllllllllllll I .INVENTOR ch01? [0M9 ATTORNEYSSept. 1, 1953 J, ROCHE 2,650,775

PORTABLE REWI'NDER FOR PAPER TAPE FROM BUSINESS MACHINES Filed April 22,1952.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 61 5 a 42 IN VENTOR Mime BY W MJW ATTOR NE Y5 PatentedSept. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE REWINDER FOR PAPERTAPE FROM BUSINESS MACHINES 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable rewinder especially adapted,although not exclusively designed, for winding the paper tape thatexhausts from various types of business machines during a daysoperation, which in present practice is ordinarily allowed to collect onthe floor or in a basket, from which it must be recovered at the end ofthe day by a clerk-who has to untangle and roll the tape which hasfrequently become torn and dirty.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an automaticrewinding drum to be positioned adjacent the business machine, to whichthe end of the record tape is attachable, and which exerts a continuoustension upon the tape so that it is wound in a neat roll on theperiphery of the drum as it is released from the business machine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a drum for thepurpose described, formed as a casing which completely encloses theimpelling mechanism, and is formed in two segments hingedly connected atone side and normally held with their peripheral faces in cylindricalrelationship, the free terminal edges of said segments forming clampingmeans for receiving between them, and holding, the end of the papertape, said segments being hingedly contractable to reduce thecircumference of the periphery of the drum so that the roll of tapewound upon it may be readily slipped oil of the drum for preservation asa record.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a winding drum, asdescribed, in which the impelling means is a simple clockwork, the keyarbor of which projects from a side of the drum for purpose of winding,the drum being revoluble about a fixed axle bridging the sides of aweighty base support which may be conveniently placed with respect tothe business machine and will retain its position due to its weight,regardless of the tension maintained on the tape, the drum, "includingthe axle being releasable from the base support so that it can beremoved therefrom to facilitate removal of the rolled tape.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the subjectinvention, and throughout the figures of which the same referencecharacters have been used to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section,

of a portable rewinder embodying the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is a, plan view;

Figure 3 is an end elevation viewed from the righthand side of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse cross-section;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure'4;

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along the line ii6 ofFigure 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the numeral I represents thebase support as a whole, which is a heavy member having a flat bottom 2,and sides upstanding therefrom forming uprights 3 and 4, withtransversely aligned square notches 5 opening in the tops thereof toreceive the corresponding squared ends of a bridging axle 6, whereby theaxle is prevented from rotating. A permanent keeper 1 overlies the notchin the upright 3, while a releasable keeper 8 normally blocks the notchin the upright 4. The keeper 8 is pivotally mounted at 9, at one side ofthe notch, and swings in a horizontal plane so as to uncover said notch.It has an operating knob Ill. The squared ends of the axle 6 are a freefit in the respective notches, so that when the keeper 8 is in releaseposition the adjacent end of the axle can be lifted free of its notch,permitting the opposite end of the axle to be slipped endwise from itsnotch. Between its polygonal end portions the axle is round incross-section, and a winding drum ll is revolubly mounted thereuponbetween the uprights 3 and 4, with enough lateral clearance between saiddrum and uprights to permit the axle with the drum to be tilted up andmoved endwise, to the extent indicated, permitting removal of the axleand drum as a unit from the base support.

The thickness of the bottom 2 progressively increases from left toright,as indicated by the upwardly curved line I2 in Figure 1, making thelefthand end of the base support quite thick and solid, providing thenecessary weight to cause the portable rewinder to stay in any positionin which it may be placed. The relative thinness of the bottom at therighthand end provides a deep opening between the uprights at this endthrough which the drum, together with the roll of tape wound upon itsperiphery, may be withdrawn from the base support.

A pair of parallel spaced posts [3 are vertically mounted in transverserelation upon the thick lefthand end of the base support, of equallength, rising to a height approximately equal to that of the top of thedrum H. A cap piece i4 bridges the tops of the posts [3, having clampsockets which receive the upper ends of the posts and are clampedthereto by means of the screws IS. The cap piece is formed with spacedtransversely aligned slots [6 which define between each slot and theedge of the cap piece adjacent the drum, aligned hinge pintles [1. Aswinging guide I8 is provided, consisting of an elongated transverse eyel9 extending substantially the width of the drum, and being adjacent tothe upper are thereof, having a slot as through which the tape isthreaded, the length of which slot is substantially the width of thetape so that the edges of successive convolutions of tape wound on thedrum will coincide. The eye I9 is carried at the ends of radial arms 2!,the opposite ends of which are looped freely about the pintles Figure 1indicates that when the rewinding of the tape begins, the guide H; hasthe position shown in full lines, but as the annulus of rolled tapebuilds up on the periphery of the drum, the guide progressively movesupward toward the position shown in broken lines. The removablearrangement of the cap piece :4 with respect to the posts l3 enables thecap piece to be interchanged with another having a guide with an eye ofdifferent length, to suit different widths of tape.

The drum consists of a normally closed cylinder having a peripheral faceplate 22 and closed headers 23 and 24. The headers are outwardlyflanged, as shown at 25 in Figure 4, and secured to the face plate atthe flanges. The drum, including the face plate and headers, is dividedinto segments, a major segment and a minor segment. The side walls 26and 27 of the major segment lap within the corresponding side walls 23and 29 of the minor segment, the side walls 26 and 28 and 21 and 29comprising the respective headers 23 and 24. The segments are pivotallyconnected at one end along a transverse axis which intersects theirlapped side walls adjacent the circumference of the drum. The face plateportions of the segments are in end to end contact adjacent the pivotalaxis, when the drum is in fully expanded condition. At the opposite endsof the segments the face plate portion of the major segment slightloverlaps the face plate portion of the minor segment, in contacttherewith when the drum is in expanded condition. The side wall 21 ofthe minor segment has an outwardly projecting threaded stud 38, whichplays in a slot 3| in the corresponding side wall 29 of the minorsegment. A knurled nut 3 on the stud clamps the segments together whenthey are in expanded relationship.

The side walls of the major segment have coaxial perforations centrallyof the drum through which the axle 6 freely passes, the drum beingjournaled upon the axle. A clockwork unit is enclosed within the drum.It comprises a pair of congruently arranged parallel plates 32, one ofwhich is fixed to the inner face of the side wall 21 of the majorsegment, securing the clockwork to the drum. The plates are spaced apartby posts 33 at their corners. The axle 6 freely passes through saidplates and carries a small gear 35 at an intermediate point between saidplates. A large gear 35 meshes with the small gear 36 and is journaledon an arbor 36 parallel with the axle, said arbor being journaled insaid plates and passing at its outer end freely through a hole in theside wall 27 to the outside of the drum, a winding key 31 being securedto its exposed end. A ratchet 38 is fixed to the arbor 36 close to thelarge gear 35., A holding pawl 38 engages the ratchet, being pressedthereagainst by a stiff spring 43 to which the pawl is attached,

the opposite end of said spring being anchored to the large gear. Ahelical spring 4| of many turns is anchored at one end to the arbor andat the other to a post 42 extending between the plates. The spring 4|winds in the direction of movement of the arbor permitted by the ratchet38.

The winding is done while the drum is in position in the. base supportwith the axle 8 fixed. In winding, the ratchet turns with the arbor, thespring 4| winding about the arbor. As viewed in Figure 5, the windingmovement of the arbor 36 is in a counterclockwise direction. Inunwinding, the spring 4| biases the ratchet to press against the holdingpawl, which through the stiff spring 40 urges the large gear 35 to movein a clockwise direction. The large gear, however, cannot turn the smallgear 34 with which it meshes, since the gear 34 is on the fixed axle,the resultv being that. the large gear rolls around the small gear in aclockwise direction, carrying with it the entire drum.

In using the portable rewinder, it is placed adjacent the businessmachine, with the drum in alignment with. the tape discharging from themachine. The free end of the tape is passed between the. posts l3. andup through the slot in the eye 20, as shown at a in Figure 1. The drumis collapsed by loosening the knurled nut 3| and pressing the segmentstoward one another. This opens. a slot between the lapped ends 43 and 44of the face plate portions of the respective segments. The free end ofthe tape is inserted in this slot and the segments expanded until theends 43 and 44 close against the inserted end of the tape, clamping it.The knurled nut 3| is then tightened. The drum is now turned throughpart of a revolution until the tape folds itself about the end 43,. asshown in Figure 1, The clockwork is then wound. At the beginning of thewinding movement the drum freely turns until the flight of tape betweenthe business machine and drum becomes tensioned by the winding torque ofthe drum. When this state of tension is reached, the drum becomesstatic, thereafter winding the tape only responsive to its release bythe business machine.

In a practical embodiment of the drum that has been made and tested, asingle winding of the clockwork will wind up about one hundredconvolutions or ninety feet of tape upon the drum, which is theaveragedail tape output of many business machines. When it is desired to removethe accumulated: annulus of rolled tape from the drum, the axle isreleased in the manner set forth from the base support, the drum slippedforwardly through the open front end of the base support, the knurlednut loosened, the segments of the drum pressed together so as to reduceits-circumference, whereupon, the annular roll of tape can readily beslipped off laterally.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to be apreferred and practical' embodiment of the invention, it will beunderstood by those skilled: inthe art that the specific details ofconstruction and arrangement of parts, as shown, are by way ofillustration and not to be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention.

What I claim, is:

1. Portable rewinding device for the continuous paper tape dischargedfrom business machines of the type which are generally intermittentlyoperated and discharge tape concurrently with their operation, saidrewinding device comprising a drum having a cylindrical peripheral faceupon which the tape is wound and closed by headers perpendicular to theaxis of said drum, an axle nonrot'atably supported, upon which the drumis journaled, a gear fixed to the axle within said drum, clockworkmechanism within said drum carried thereby, including a gear reactingagainst said fixed gear to revolve said drum about said axle, said drumbeing formed in two segments transversely dividing its peripheral face,having end walls together constituting said headers, said end walls ofone segment overlapping the end walls of the other segment and beinghinged together at one end adjacent the circumference of said drum, theperipheral face of one segment being adapted to lap the peripheral faceof the other segment at the free ends of said segments whereby one maybe telescoped within the other to reduce the circumference of said drumand separate the lapped ends of said peripheral faces providing a spacebetween said ends for the insertion of the end of the length of tapeissuing from the business machine, and means for clamping said segmentsin normal expanded position in which the lapped ends of said peripheralfaces clampably engage the inserted end of the tape.

2. A portable rewinding device as claimed in claim 1, one of thesegments being of greater peripheral extent than the other, theclockwork being fixed to the larger segment on the inside thereof.

3. A portable rewinding device as claimed in claim 1, the clamping meansfor said segments comprising a slot in the overlapped portion of the endwall of one segment, a threaded stud on the corresponding underlappedportion of the end wall of the other segment, playing in said slot, anda clamp nut on said stud.

4. A portable rewinding device for the continuous paper tape dischargedfrom business machines of the type which are generally intermittentlyoperated and discharge tape concurrently with their operation, saidrewinding device comprising a heavy base including laterally spacedupstanding sides with transverse aligned slots opening in the topthereof, of nonround cross-section, an axle having end portions ofcross-section complementary to that of said slots and seating therein,said axle bridging the space between said sides, keepers over said slotsfor normally retaining said axle, one of said keepers being movable outof occlusive relation to the corresponding slot to permit release ofsaid axle, a drum having a cylindrical peripheral face upon which thetape is adapted to be wound, said drum being closed by headersperpendicular to the axis of said drum, said drum being journaled uponsaid axle, a gear fixed to the axle within said drum, clockworkmechanism Within said drum carried thereby including a gear reactingagainst said fixed gear to revolve said drum about said axle, said drumbeing formed in two segments dividing transversely its peripheral faceand having end walls which together constitute said headers, said endwalls of one segment over lapping the end walls of the other segment andbeing hinged together at one end adjacent the circumference of saiddrum, and the peripheral face of one segment being adapted to lap theperipheral face of the other segment at the free ends of said segmentswhereby one may be telescoped within the other to reduce thecircumference of said drum and to separate the lapped ends of saidperipheral faces providing a space between said ends for the insertionof the end of the length of tape issuing from the business machine, andmeans for clamping said segments in normal expanded position in whichthe lapping ends of said peripheral faces clampably engage the insertedend of the tape.

5. A portable rewinding device as claimed in claim 4, including a guidesupported upon said base mounted on an axis parallel to that of the drumto swing adjacent the trailing end of the upper arc of said drum, saidguide having a transverse eye at its free end fitting the width of thetape, through which the tape passes on its way to the peripheral face ofsaid drum.

6. A portable rewinding device as claimed in claim 4, including a pairof transversely spaced posts mounted upon said base between which saidtape passes, said posts extending upward to a point adjacent the levelof the top of said drum, a cap piece bridging said posts, securedthereto, a guide hingedly mounted upon said cap piece on an axisparallel to that of said drum to swing adjacent the trailing end of theupper arc of said drum, said guide having a transverse eye in its freeend fitting the width of the tape through which the tape passes on itsway to the peripheral face of said drum.

7. A portable rewinding device for the continuous paper tape dischargedfrom business machines of the type which are generally intermittentlyoperated and discharge tape concurrently with their operation, saidwinding de-- vice comprising a heavy base including laterally spacedupstanding sideswith transverse aligned slots opening in the topsthereof, of non-round cross-section, an axle having end portions ofcross-sectiona1 shape complementary to that of said slots nonrotatablyseated in said slots, said axle bridging the space between said sides,keepers over said slots for normally retaining said axle, one of saidkeepers being movable out of occlusive relation to the correspondingslot to permit release of the axle from said base, a drum having acylindrical peripheral face upon which the tape is wound, said drumbeing closed by end headers perpendicular to the axis of said drum, saiddrum being journaled on said axle, a gear fixed to the axle within saiddrum, spring wound clockwork mechanism within said drum carried therebyincluding a gear reacting against said fixed gear to revolve said drumabout said axle, said drum being formed in two segments dividingtransversely its peripheral face and having end walls which togetherconstitute said headers, said end walls of one segment overlapping theend Wall of the other segment and being hinged together at one endadjacent the circumference of said drum, the peripheral face of onesegment being adapted to lap the peripheral face of the other segment atthe free ends of said segments whereby one may be telescoped within theother to reduce the circumference of said drum and to separate thelapped ends of said peripheral faces providing a space between said endsfor the insertion of the end of the length of the tape issuing from thebusiness machine, one of the segments being of greater peripheral extentthan the other, the clockwork being fixed to the inside of an end wallof the larger segment and having a key arbor projecting through said endwall, means for clamping said segment in normal expanded position inwhich the lapping ends of said peripheral faces clampably engage theinserted end of the tape, a pair of transversely spaced posts mountedupon said base between which said tape passes, said posts extendingupward to a point adjacent the level of the top of said. drum, a cappiece bridging said posts and secured thereto, a guide hingedly mountedupon said cap piece on an axis parallel to that of said drum, swingableadjacent the trailing end of the upper are of said drum, said guidehaving a transverse eye in its free end fitting the width of the tape,through which the tape passes on its way to the peripheral face ofsaiddrum.

JACK ROCHE.

8 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATIENTSNumber Name Date Ford Dec. 8, 1885 Anderson Oct. 18, 1898 Merle May 10,1927 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 4, 1930

